CBNNews.com - JENIN, West Bank - Over the weekend, some 480 Palestinian Authority (PA) policemen deployed to the PA-controlled city of Jenin. The newly deployed forces join 150 PA policemen already working the streets of Jenin.

Suleiman Amran, commander of the PA's security forces in Jenin, said the deployment will ensure "no chance for troublemakers to return to Jenin."

According to one senior Palestinian official, the PA police will work in 50 Arab villages over a three-month period, dealing primarily with protecting the public from criminal acts, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue its counter-terror operations.

While the US administration would like to see PA police forces begin combating Palestinian terror groups, confiscating illegal weapons and the like, the IDF says its expectations aren't unrealistic.

"We expect them to also fight terror, but our expectations are not too high. Policing and enforcing order are also important missions," an IDF official said.

The latest deployment of PA security forces, some of whom received US-funded training in Jordan, will have similar responsibilities to their counterparts in Nablus (biblical Shechem).

PA police in Nablus are coordinating with the IDF, including tracking down Israeli vehicles that wind up there.

"Any activity on the part of Palestinian police officers in terms of thwarting terror will be welcomed," one IDF official said. "However, the IDF will continue to operate in the city and in the region as long as it takes. This is clear to all sides," he said.

While the IDF would like to support Palestinian security forces as they learn to handle their own populations, it is a process that takes time.